Dear visitor, welcome to FertilityZone .
If this is your first visit here, please read the Help. It explains in detail how this page works.
To use all features of this page, you should consider registering.
Please use the registration form, to register here or read more information about the registration process.
If you are already registered, please login here.

HOW MANY TO TRANSFER?

As we all know in the U.K you can only have two embryos put back in if you are under 40. This is because of the high risk factor in multiple births.

The reason we are are looking into this is that in the last two ivf attempts we have had two top quality embryos put back in each time both resulting in BFN. And becuase of that we think that putting in maybe 4 embryos would increase our chances.

We know that in many other countries they will consider putting in more than 2 embyros, even as many as 4.

Has anyone given this any thought and looked into it, we have checked some sites but wondered if there are any other sites that you may be aware of that do this. The two that we found are as follows, the Malpani one was because it was the first one that we found and thought yeah but then as we have family in Sarasota we looked for one there.

Unfortunately they would advise you reduced the number, and I dont have to explain what that means. Now that would be a very tough thing to have to go through. I think 3 should be the absolute maximum, whatever the circumstances. But that is just my personal feelings on it.

I've read your other thread jaid, about the assisted hatching, and I have to say ... I think that's the better option.
I hope this comes out right, but .... if none out of 4 have implanted so far, I see that as being a problem with hatching ... or implantation ... putting 4 or 40 back in wouldn't help if the embryo's can't hatch ... so I would definately favour the assisted hatching aproach first.

My gut feeling is the assisted hatching which is our 1st choice and next option that we are looking into.

Me and DH are just looking around at options in general. We weren't even really looking at 4 embies in general as I think 3 is enough. Plus I only seem to get 3 good embies, so why not put all of them in.

I know i would be overjoyed to discover i was pg with 1 baby.
Twins would be AMAZING and triplets would scare me.
As for 4 babies if all the embies took...I coud never make that decision for
natural selection. I would have to leave it to fate and god.

I hope the assisted hatching works for you as this would hopefully not leave you
with a possible heartwrenching choice like the 4 embies transfer could.

Jaid, talk to your consultant about assisted hatching, i didnt have it for a few cycles but on my 4th i insisted even though there was no medical proof it was what my embryos needed but it worked and i got a +

Hi Jaid - think i would be inclined to try the assisted hatching over large # of embryos just reading a book at moment written by woman who had 4 put back on and all 4 implanted, they had to reduce and it's simply awful, had me sobbing ... think rather than having to make this decision better to try AH,hope your clinc is helpful.

1 Embie or 2?

This might be a bit early to think about as not even had EC yet (fri hopefully), but my con said if my embies are of good quality they would really only like to put one back in as the risks of having twins is higher as i'm under 35. They have said the decision is entirley mine but cant help thinking that if i only have one put back in - doesn't that lower my chances and if it doesn't work am i going to really regret only using one, but if i have two put back in and something happens i will feel just as awful!!! I know i have to be govened by the clinic and i may not get the choice to have two put back in but cant help thinking about it!!!! Can anyone give me some advise as to what they would do or have done?
Sorry to have rambled on xx xx

is there a chance you could go to blastocyst stage?
i haven't had IVF but during the consultations spoke to my clinic about only putting one back (my choice rather than theirs). for my clinic they get higher success rates with putting 2 back rather than 1 (not sure what national stats are) but if only putting 1 back get higher success rate if that is at blast stage. does that make sense? I'd ask if your clinic have got any figures on their particular success rates with this and whether or not there is any difference depending on the embie grade.

I had two put back it was standered, guess it makes sence for NHS patients to have 2 put back and if succesfull you dont really have to be treated again to complete family (obv you could be if you wanted more kids) and if one fais to inplant theres always the other One.
But on the Flip side Twin Pregnancy is higher risk, and they are Very hard work to begin with and getting out can be a strugglefor the 1st year (all worth it though)

We had two put back on our last attempt - I can't remember them asking but assume they did.

I wonder if more clinics are recommending or highlighting the debate over 1 egg versus 2 eggs at ET in anticipation of suggested changes to fertility treatment. I think I remember reading that a parliamentary bill was being considered which would prevent 2 egg transfers for women under a certain age. It's probably me being cynical.

Quoted

Originally posted by Pickles
I wonder if more clinics are recommending or highlighting the debate over 1 egg versus 2 eggs at ET in anticipation of suggested changes to fertility treatment. I think I remember reading that a parliamentary bill was being considered which would prevent 2 egg transfers for women under a certain age. It's probably me being cynical.

Pickles

The HFEA called for a reduction in multiple births as a result of fertility treatment as recently as December and guidance is starting to be developed which will work towards achieving this. Might be what you're thinking of Pickles? (see attached link http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/1625.html)

In response to your question sammiesue, I think it is such a personal decision that only you and your DH can decide whats best for you. Sure you'll reach the right decision for you. Good luck for Friday - if it happens then x

I am trying for our second child and have decided only to have one embryo put back.
For me this is due to three things:

1 - twin pregnancies are more risky than single pregnancies
2 - I misscarried a twin when I got pregnant with my son and it caused me a lot of distress
3 - my family and relationship would not benefit from having twins

I know it is really personal and that it is frightening that there is a lower pregnancy chance of having one put back but I would rather try again and take that risk than putting 2 back...

This is not how I felt before my first pregnancy. THen I thought the more the merrier!

It is a very personal question and only you will know what is right for you!

Like the other girls have said, it really depends on how you feel about the prospect of twins.

I had 2 put back in Nov and am now expecting twins (but I am v.v.v. happy with this- feel very blessed) but I can see why many people would not want twins. Particularly giving the reasons Torisen has above.

It's personal choice really and a lot of thought goes in behind it to each individual.

We had two put back, both were at Blasto stage & one with assisted Hatching on it, we got lucky and I am pregnant with a single, but we don't know which one of the Tx's it came from?!

I woud have had all 4 put back in, but in all reality this wouldn't have been the best option for us as if we had been successful with all four I'm not sure how we would have managed - although we were mentally prepared and accepting of twins.

P.S. Good Luck

This post has been edited 1 times, last edit by "Rainbow Sprite" (Jan 24th 2008, 9:23am)

This is all part of the new HFEA guideline which suggests that clinics should be moving toward putting one embryo back where the chances of success are at their optimum. I was part of the public debate on this, and was strongly in favour of women being given the choice over whether to have one or two embryo's replaced.

It sounds like your clinic have given you the choice. You don't have to have just one put back, I am sure they would be happy for you to have 2 put back, but because they have suggested one, it means that you have seriously considered the prospect of twins, and what it would mean to you. If you feel happy that you would cope with twins, go for it, but if you feel that it would be terribly hard, then think twice. There are lots and lots of instances where women have had 2 embies put back and still ended up with a singleton pregnancy though, so I'm afraid it is a bit of a gamble.

One or two embryos? Confused ?(

As you can see from my ticker, I am still in very early stage of my treatment. I am so confused now, as to how many embryos I should transfer. My mind says one, but what if it is not succesful? I read about Blastocyst culture, sounds like a very good idea if I have plenty of eggs . Also I am having treatment in NHS, so not sure whether they will be happy to do Blastocyst transfer for me (dont mind paying extra money!!).

I really like twins, but very worried about the potential complications in pregnancy like premature delivery etc...I know that it is an individual decision, still if someone can help me by sharing their experiences, to make my decision, that will be fab.

I'm not sure about the stats, but I think that 1 in 4 successful IVF pg is a multiple. (any moderators out there know different??)

So it doesn't mean that you will automatically have twins. The clinic's aim will be to get you pg on the first round of IVF, hence the transfer of 2 embryos, so I think perhaps your fears should be discussed with them as well?

I've probably not helped much, (sorreeeee!). There's bound to be someone along with better info than me... maybe some of the multiple ladies can offer advice? Have you thought about putting a post on the multiple section?

RE: One or two embryos? Confused ?(

hi anita

congratulations on getting this far, I choose two on both occasions, like you said the idea of having twins really made my heart beat, almost like an instant family. but unfortunatly either attempt ended in .... but again on my third attempt i am going to transfer two providing i have two, like you said it is an individual choice, and i wish you all the luck in making that choice, it will be the right one for you.
not sure on NHS wether they will do blastocyst but check with your doc, he will tell you.
Good luck with your journey
keep us updated on your tx

oh sorry anita to be nosey but just noticed hubby has low sperm count, has doc given anything for this? my dh also had low sperm count and was told to take L-Carnitine, after a week of taking these along with zinc his sperm was as the doctor over here says SUPER.

We had two embryos put in and were lucky that it worked first time...To be honest i did not give it much thought as i really believed that it was going to fail completely and i would not be pregnant...Positive thinking and all that !!!! Not for one minute did i think we would have twins.

I do think i should have given it more thought that we could have twins as it is very hard at times, but obviously i would not change them for the world...Nothing can prepare you to have a baby, be it one or two babies...

Personally i would have done anything to get pregnant, so by having 2 embryos will increase your chances of success.

This is a conversation you should have with your doctor.
My feelings were that if I had bad quality embryos then I would have transfered two but if it all looked good then one.

My gut feeling was that my family and relationship with my husband would not benefit from having twins. This on top of problems often occurring with twin pregnancies did not justify the risk of putting two back for me.
I had a negative result and to be honest, the thought has crossed my mind "what if I had 2 put back" but if and when i do it again, I will have one put back!
The journey will just be a bit longer but this is my choice.

Your situation might be very different so talk to your consultant! They can help you come to an informed conclusion!

I dont know if this helps, but I was advised to only have 1 transferred, and this was a hatching blasto.

The reasons they gave were that as we had blasto's, and I'm young(ish) the chances of a twin pregnancy if we had 2 transferred would be high (about 50%), and all the risks that go with twin pregnancies and all that.

They said if we only transferred 1 we had a 50-55% chance of success, and if we transferred 2, this could be 60-70% chance of success, so would be higher.

But we also had embryo's for freezing, so they suggested transferring 2 in a FET cycle next time instead of now. This all kind of made sense to me, and whilst we would really have quite liked twins, we also wanted to put the babies health first, not our own preferences. Fortunately for us, it worked.... and there is always that chance of identical twins thereafter! Maybe you just need to see the cycle through and make a decision when you know how many embryo's you have? Good luck x x x

Do you know how I can get an appointment with doctor to discuss this? (I am having treatment in NHS, it may take 3 months for the appointment!!!) or do we get to see them during egg collection etc,, sorry, just dont have a clue as it is my first treatment.

Chatterbox, I read somewhere the rate of multiple pregnancy is much higher in young woman.

Twinkletoes, my hubby is not taking anything for the sperm, he had testicular torsion when he was a child and doc thinks that might be the reason for low count.also he has ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition for which he takes some tablets which can reduce the swimming capacity of the sperm. so we really have to go for ICSI, but all depends on the sperm quality on the day.

Perdita, were you a private patient/NHS? I think I will be very happy if they give me an option to do the same - blastocyst transfer. To be honest, I dont mind if it happens to be a twin after one embryo transfer, so no guilty feelings even if something go wrong.

Hi
I agree you have to make the choice between you and your cons. All we can do is advise and tell you our stories but the final decision has to be yours. We are having 3 embryos put back each time as we are both over 40 and they say this increases the chance of one taking but there is also a risk of all three taking!!!! Triplets at 41 oh my god!! but the way i see it after everything you put youselves through to get a baby then you have to thank your lucky stars for how ever many you get. 3 Just means more slepless nights !!! everyone

Hi Anita. It was an NHS cycle. I'm glad that we were given the choice of 1 or 2 (I think some clinics make the choice for you), but to be honest, they did really encourage us to choose just 1.

Also, in our case we were having treatment due to genetic risks (of passing on CF to the child) not fertility problems, so we had the added knowledge that we can and have been pregnant before, which helped. Also, we'd chosen to have IVF even though we could get naturally pg because we wanted a healthy child, it seemed a bit silly to then add to the risk of problems by choosing to transfer 2 when they weren't really advising it. It wasn't about whether we wanted / could cope with twins, it was about that child (same reason as we might be able to cope with a second child with CF, but its not about us as parents, its about that child).

Although obviously I'm not suggesting anyone is wrong to go with 2 at all (in fact we will on a FET cycle in future as they recommended this) and clearly the risks involved with twin pregnancies are very small, it was just the right choice for us given the above reasons, and the fact that we had some great blasto's. Good luck.... I'm sure you'll get lots of chances to discuss this with your team during the tx. x x x